Author Archives: jimwdollar

This is who we areand this is what we are about!Decide for yourself what constitutes “this”in both of those statements,and to what extent it applies to the larger group that comprises the “we”you consider yourself to be a part of.And live to make that clearly evidentin your life,individually and collectivelyin the time you have leftContinue reading “July 05, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

I think I know where I would be better off,and trust myself completelyin directing my life to that destination,the trouble is that the situation keeps changing.The conditions become unpredictable. Better is a shifting mirage in a wasteland of empty promisesand lost dreams.Where to we go to find better?How long will it last?My advice is toContinue reading “July 04, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

All forms of religion are ridiculous.In Buddhism there is no duality,but there are eight fiery hells and ten cold ones.In Christianity God’s love is unconditionaland God will send you straight to hellif you don’t believe it.In Judaism you are to do unto othersbefore they do unto you.In Islam it’s one thing for youif you areContinue reading “July 03, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Reflection and realization, kid.Reflection and realization.This is the sum total of the spiritual life.Taking vision quests.Sitting in the emptiness/stillness/silence.”Waiting for the mud to settleand the water to clear.”Asking, seeking, knocking.Thinking about our thinking.Seeing our seeing.Feeling our feelings.Holding everything up to the light.Turning the light around.Flipping the normal and customaryto see what we may be missinginContinue reading “July 02, 2024 – B”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Our best hope of influencing the futureis how we respond to the present.What we do here has an impact there.The quality and degree of impactis determined by countless factorsat work within the circumstances of the moment,but.We increase our chances of a future betterthat it would otherwise beby the way we live in each situation asContinue reading “July 02, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

When we are being swept alongby circumstances,it’s best to go with the flowand attend our intuitionso that we know when a door opensand we can walk through.At times such as these,just waiting it out makes as much sense as anything else.It helps to wait it outin the company of the right people.And it is notContinue reading “July 01, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

“We know when we are on the beamand when we are off it (Joseph Campbell),and we are the authoritydetermining what does and does notconstitute the way, the truth and the lifefor us,and we don’t have a clue.We had better get a clue,and a good one.Here is a hint:We are looking for a solid relationshipwith ourContinue reading “July, 2024”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

Christianity needs to dump theologyand believing,and go back to being who Jesus was,an intuitive fully human being,with his eye on doing what neededto be donein each situation as it arose,trusting himself to realize/knowwhat that waswithout any reference to codified instructionsin the matter.Simple.Clear.Timely.No?

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

I was standing in a cotton fieldduring planting seasonwith a farmer-member of my congregationin Batesville, Mississippiwhere the hills meet the delta,in a wide-ranging conversationdealing with race relations and gay rightswhen he said,”Hell, Jim! This isn’t the way I SEE things–THIS IS THE WAY THINGS ARE!!!And I said,”And that’s the way you see things!”We laughed togetherContinue reading “June 29, 2024 – B”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

We are always trying to turn thingsto our advantage.And here we are.We are here, now,with things just as they are,because we, as a species,are always trying to turn things to our advantage.Call it “The Profit Motive.”We want what we want,when we want it,where we want it, the way we want it,for as long as weContinue reading “June 29, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

The path unfolds before thosewho start walkingin the service of their intrinsic intuition,with no outcomeor destination in mind.To walk as a devoted partner,not as a way of getting somewhere,is to be mindfully awareof each momentand what is called for thereas the purpose of the journey.This here, this now, is the point!How faithfully do we respondContinue reading “June 28, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.

You know what the problem is?We could call it the human problem. We are the problem.We know what we want,but we do not want know what we ought to want.And even if we did,we would not do what we ought to want.Which is to say,we would not do what we ought to do.We would notContinue reading “June 27, 2024 – A”

View post to subscribe to the site’s newsletter.